Curtain Call (The Jewel Project #7)

29. Rebels Run Off

Kay kept checking her watch every few seconds, hoping against hope that it wouldn't start blinking, that everything would be okay. She noticed that Jessie and Angie were doing the same. It was an obsessive game they couldn't help playing.

The house was silent, the kids fortunately asleep and Maxi retreating for the night after Jessie snapped at her to go to bed. With all of them there, she didn't dare argue and slunk away.

A part of Kay wanted to go to the kids, because she knew they wouldn't be seeing them again for a long time. But she couldn't leave this tense hell, the planning.

"Oh, God, why aren't they coming back?" Christine asked, putting her head in her hands.

Jerry raised his face from the screen of the laptop. "Sam's surely fine. You'll see. Jimmy and Tom will be back with him in no time."

"How do you know that?" Christine demanded. She hesitated for a second, biting her lower lip. "Can you feel Jimmy?"

"Jimmy's fine," Jerry said right away.

Kay didn't buy it. She could tell Jerry was only trying to calm Christine down. But with tickets to Peru already purchased and their trip across the border secured like last time, there wasn't much they could still do. For a moment, they wondered if they should go pack, but none of them dared leave the kitchen in case the others came back.

With a loud click, the front door opened. Before anyone could do more than straighten in their seats, Christine jumped off her chair and headed out into the hallway. She let out a short scream and all the muscles in Kay's body tensed.

"Sam, are you alright?" Christine's question was more like a whimper.

"I'm fine," Sam mumbled, entering the kitchen with his wife under one arm.

Kay almost yelped, too. His entire jawline was dark purple and one of his cheekbones was noticeably swollen. Her attention on Sam's face, she barely registered Jessie and Angie rushing to their husbands. At least Tom and Jimmy looked untouched.

"What happened?" Jerry asked, standing at once.

Sam took the newly vacated seat and leaned his forehead in one hand, obviously in a fair amount of pain.

"They wanted to send a message," he mumbled. "That we've failed and it's unacceptable."

"We need to move," Jimmy said as he headed for the fridge. He took a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and tossed it to Sam. "We blew up our offices and the entire research department."

"You did what?" Jerry asked, but immediately caught himself. "Good."

"Jimmy's right," Sam said pressing the bag of frozen vegetables to his face. He winced. "We need to disappear and it has to happen tonight."

"Who did this to you?" Christine asked, her voice still shaking.

Sam flinched and he frowned in pain. It didn't seem to do much for his face because he forced a blank expression to it. "Keeves and Hannigan."

"Hannigan?" Jessie asked, her tone low and deadly. "They dared bring that asshole back here?"

"Apparently they did." Sam rubbed his forehead and sucked air through his teeth. "So much has happened in the last few hours." He raised his eyes and stared straight at Kay. "They tried to kill William."

The breath caught in her throat and he started coughing. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. Her mind spun, trying to compute everything that Sam was saying, but the latest news hit like a freight train.